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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840515">Our Fathers' Scars</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillrunforever/pseuds/iwillrunforever'>iwillrunforever</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Mostly Fluff, abuse mention, for the bonding, with an eensy bit of angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:51:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,982</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26840515</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwillrunforever/pseuds/iwillrunforever</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Zuko gets lost in the forests surrounding the Western Air Temple, a mysterious girl helps him. They soon discover they have more in common than they might think.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zuko (Avatar)/Reader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Our Fathers' Scars</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>My first ever ATLA fic, hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko never liked to admit he was wrong if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. But he was well and truly lost.</p><p>It had started as just a short walk in the forest, something to clear his head a bit. He had snapped at Sokka, more aggressive than his usual responses to the “lovable” idiot’s jokes and quips, and the stunned silence from the group made him realise that he might have a bit of built-up tension. Of course, that was understandable. Everything they were doing was leading up to a battle with his father, a battle that would determine the fate of the world, and it was his job to train Aang to firebend. If he failed…</p><p>He yelled in frustration, throwing a ball of fire into a copse of trees. A yelp from the same direction drew his attention. Panicked, he sprinted over to the now charred and smoking trees.</p><p>“Hello?” He called out, hoping that whoever it was would be okay.<br/>
“You really need to be more careful if you’re going to be throwing fire around like that.” The voice came from his right. Looking around, he found a girl, around his age, lying in the dirt where she seemed to have thrown herself when dodging the fire.<br/>
“I- I’m sorry,” Zuko noticed an upturned basket a few metres from her and picked it up, scooping the fallen fruits back in. “Really, I…”<br/>
“It’s fine,” She rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up. She was dressed simply, in a weather-worn dress with long sleeves and well-used sandals. When the two made eye contact, they both froze. She frowned, clearly thinking hard. <em>Oh sh-</em> “Prince Zuko?” She gasped.<br/>
“Well, kind of just Zuko now.” He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, immediately looking away from her shocked stare. Glancing up ever so slightly, he watched her carefully through his tangled hair. “Do I know you?” He had to be careful – she could be a scout, a spy, or even just loyal to the Fire Nation.<br/>
“No,” She laughed slightly, “You visited my village once, six years ago or so. Some royal tour. There’s no reason you’d remember me.”<br/>
“I might have.” He tried to defend himself, but the look she gave him made him wince.<br/>
“So what’s the traitor prince doing here?” She asked, glancing around as though looking for troops. He knew his presence was the opposite of relaxing. Seeing his unease, the girl tried to give him a calming smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn you in. I have no desire to go running to a soldier. I’m (Y/N).”<br/>
“Zuko.”<br/>
“Yes, I know.” She did her best to hold back a laugh at his social ineptitude.<br/>
“Oh, yeah. Um… I got lost.”<br/>
“Lost?”<br/>
“Yeah. I’m staying at the Western Air Temple with some, erm, friends.”<br/>
“The Avatar?”<br/>
“How did you-?”<br/>
“Educated guess. Why else would you have left the capital?”<br/>
“I guess.”</p><p>She glanced up, a frown appearing on your face.<br/>
“The Western Air Temple?”<br/>
“Yes.”<br/>
“You won’t get back before dark.” Zuko lifted his head with her to see an orange sky – the sun must be setting.<br/>
“I’ll be fine.”<br/>
“No, you shouldn’t wander the forest at night. Stay with me, and I’ll take you to your friends in the morning.”<br/>
“I’m serious-”<br/>
“And so am I,” She insisted. “I don’t live far from here. Come on.”</p><p>Zuko figured she wouldn’t take no for an answer, so when she started walking away he followed. They took a seemingly invisible path through the trees. There were no clear markers or tracks, but (Y/N) walked confidently. The sun was setting quickly, the light filtering through the trees dimming with every moment.</p><p>As if out of nowhere a small house appeared. It sat in a clearing, and a stream ran behind it. An idyllic sanctuary hidden from the world. Inside was only one room, bare except for a hearth, a bed, and rugs on the floor.<br/>
“You live here?”<br/>
“Not quite a palace, I know, but it’s better than nothing.” (Y/N) set down the basket by the hearth.<br/>
“It’s nice.” And he wasn’t even lying. The simplicity of it, the isolation – it was so completely foreign to how he was raised. He almost envied it, though he supposed the makeshift home at the Air Temple was essentially the same, just less permanent.<br/>
“Sure. I guess.” Something shifted on her face, a sadness, but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by a smile. “Are you hungry?” He nodded. Suddenly he was starving. He wasn’t sure when he last ate. (Y/N) knelt down and tossed some wood and kindling into the hearth. Next, she grabbed some matches, but they refused to stay lit long enough.<br/>
“Um, you know I can…?” Zuko tried to offer help, but the words came out clumsily.<br/>
“Go for it.” She sighed, sitting back on her heels. He knelt beside her and held a hand above the wood. In an instant, there was a roaring fire. Zuko smiled, glad to have done some good, and (Y/N) returned it. “Thanks.” She crossed to a hatch in the floor that he hadn’t seen and opened it, reaching in and pulling out another basket. From inside she pulled out some vegetables and some meat. They sat in silence while she cooked, the vegetables roasting and the meat turning on a spit. The smell made his stomach rumble embarrassingly loud. He grimaced, but (Y/N) didn’t say anything.</p><p>They sat and ate. The silence was beginning to grow awkward, at least to Zuko, but he didn’t know how to fill it. Knowing him, he would only make things worse.<br/>
“Can I ask you something?” Luckily (Y/N) broke the silence, setting her now-empty plate aside.<br/>
“Sure.”<br/>
“Why did you leave your father? Join the Avatar?”<br/>
“It was the right thing to do.” She examined him closely. “I just… I realised that being the person my father wanted me to be would never make me happy – and my uncle, he was always trying to teach me how to be good. He always knew what was best for me.”<br/>
“He sounds like a smart man.”<br/>
“He is. Now, can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Why do you live out here, all alone? You told me you used to live in a village. What changed?”<br/>
“I…” Looking away, her hands clenched into fists. “You need to understand that it’s more complicated than it seems.” She was close to shaking. “I… I killed my father.” Zuko shifted slightly away from her, shocked, but he was prepared to listen. Something about (Y/N) seemed genuine. She could have lied, but she didn’t. There must be a good reason. “He was awful. He… he wasn’t good to us. I protected my brothers and sisters from him, and I tried to protect my mother. But I wasn’t strong enough. He was a firebender. He killed her.” Tears were welling in her eyes but she quickly brushed them away.<br/>
“So you killed him, to protect the rest of your family.” She nodded. “But why did you have to leave?”<br/>
“No one believed me. Everyone thought he was perfect. I had to run. They would have executed me.”<br/>
“What about the rest of your family?”<br/>
“I made sure they were safe. Happy. They’re better off without me.” She stood up abruptly, kicking ashes to smother the dying fire. “It’s getting late. I’ll get you some blankets.”</p><p>Zuko could tell she was upset. So he didn’t push the topic. Instead, he stood with her and helped tidy the dishes. When she tried to offer him the only bed, he insisted he would be fine on the floor.</p><p>“Goodnight Zuko.”<br/>
“Goodnight (Y/N).”</p><p>*</p><p>Zuko woke up with the dawn. Pale light was starting to stream through the windows, illuminating the room. He rolled over to face (Y/N)’s bed – but she wasn’t there.</p><p>He sat up, panicking. <em>Did something happen? </em>The bed was made. He would have heard if she’d been taken. But why would she have disappeared? He stood up and made his way out of the hut. It must have rained during the night; the ground was muddy, and he could see footprints leading away towards the stream. He followed them silently. The stream wove through the trees and it didn’t take long for him to find its end, a small lake. And by the water’s edge knelt (Y/N). He stepped forward, about to call out to her when he noticed something. She had shed her dress and wore only a slight undershirt and trousers. Under the straps of her top, Zuko could see scars that wound their way across her back and down her arms. Some old and barely visible, others deep and angry. The skin was twisted and rough.</p><p>“(Y/N),” Zuko called softly, hoping not to startle her.</p><p>He failed.</p><p>She jumped, a slight scream escaping her lips as she lost her footing and fell into the lake. Zuko hurried over, prepared to jump in to help, but the water was shallow and (Y/N) was sitting submerged to her waist, shocked.<br/>
“Sorry.” Zuko cringed at himself. He offered a hand, which she took, and pulled her out of the water. Her clothes were soaked. Without thinking, Zuko pulled off his overshirt and wrapped it around her.<br/>
“Thank you.” She clung to the fabric, covering herself.<br/>
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”<br/>
“It’s okay.”<br/>
“Your scars…” Zuko realised that it probably wasn’t something she wanted to talk about, but he couldn’t stop himself from asking. “Your father gave them to you?”<br/>
“I told you he was awful.” (Y/N) sighed.<br/>
“I’m sorry.” He wasn’t sure if he was showing sympathy for her father’s abuse, or if he was apologising for asking. Probably both.<br/>
“It’s not that bad. At least I can hide them.” She tried to shrug it off but Zuko shook his head.<br/>
“Don’t say that. You don’t need to diminish your suffering. I know what it’s like to say it could be worse or to say it was my fault. But it’s not true. No one deserves something like that.” He was talking about himself just as much as her. She looked at Zuko, confusing mix of sadness and pain and frustration, but also… gratefulness?<br/>
“I guess I needed to hear that. All I get is blame – from the village, from my family, from myself. It’s always everything I did wrong.”<br/>
“And never what you did right.”<br/>
“Exactly. Thank you, Zuko.”</p><p>He wasn’t sure what to say, but luckily (Y/N) started leading the way back to her home. When they got there she went inside to change. Zuko watched the sun rising as he waited, taking peace in the colours streaking the sky.<br/>
“Here.” (Y/N) handed her his shirt as she came back out, now back in her dress. “We should get going – wouldn’t want your friends worrying.” He nodded and slipped the shirt on. Her hair was still wet.</p><p>By the time they made it to the cliff over the Western Air Temple the sun had fully risen and (Y/N)’s hair had dried.<br/>
“Well, this is where I leave you.” She smiled, almost sadly.<br/>
“Thank you, (Y/N), for everything.”<br/>
“It was nothing.” She seemed to be thinking, a slight frown creasing her forehead. Zuko was about to ask if she was okay when she darted forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. His mouth dropped open and he turned bright red. There was a shy smile on her face.<br/>
“Go save the world, Zuko.” And with that, she had turned and was disappearing into the forest. Zuko watched her until she was gone. The blush refused to leave his face. The feeling of the kiss lingered, and he smiled.</p><p>“I will, (Y/N). For you.”</p>
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